Among the Rejects
by Ali Wenstern
Summary: Step into the body of a newborn chestburster, born alone in the wild. Follow it as it grows, learns, and tries to find where it belongs…
1. Chapter 1

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The fox moved slowly across the ground, not taking its gaze of its target. The animal it was tracking was resting at the edge of an egg that had blossomed open shortly after the fox had arrived. The creature inside had started to pull itself out of the egg before stopping. The fox took two more cautious steps toward the creature and got its first good look at it. The creature was the strangest thing the fox had ever seen. It had elongated fingers, like a giant spider, but its body was unlike any spider the fox had seen. The fox couldn't see any signs of eyes or a mouth. As the fox studied it the creature turned toward it and leapt forward. The last thing the fox saw as the creature leapt toward it was a long tail and a tube coming from the underside of its body. Then, the creature landed on the fox's face-grabbing it with its fingers-and its tail wrapped around the fox's throat. The fox fell to the ground and struggled as the tail wound tighter and tighter-blocking the flow of oxygen to the fox's brain. Finally, without oxygen, the fox went still.

When the fox woke the creature was dead next to her- its legs curled above it like a dead spider. The fox got slowly to its feet and shook its head and started to walk away. Its den wasn't far from where it was hunting so the fox could return to its home quickly. Its cub was waiting at the entrance to the den eagerly for its mother to return. Just as the fox reached the cub, it collapsed and began shaking. Its body jerked and twisted. A strange pressure began to build up in the fox's chest so it rolled over on its back to expose its chest. The pressure soon turned to pain and something shifted inside the fox's chest. The fox whined as its chest rose slightly. A loud cracking sound silenced the fox as its chest exploded outward and the pink creature inside pulled itself out.

You hiss as you pull yourself into the world. Your host's body twitches one last time as you set to work cleaning yourself. You use your tongue to lick away the blood and carnage from your host, starting with your front legs, then your torso and finally, your back legs and tail. Once you were done you gazed around at the forest around you ignoring the cub is spread-legged frozen in fear next to you. You let out a screech; trying to find your Hive. But the forest around you is empty and still. You let out another hiss, this time mournful as you realize you are on your own. Not even interested in the food from which you were born, you crawl away from your host and its frightened cub with your head hanging.

After a few minutes of walking, not really paying attention where you are going, you feel the presence of another being. You raise your head hopefully but are saddened when you realize the presence isn't one of your own kind. But you get curious when you discover that the approaching presence is familiar; it's the same type of creature that you were born from. The creature comes closer and sniffs you curiously with its thin nose; its red tail swishing behind it. At that moment you realize just how hungry you are, having not devoured the body of your host. You wait patiently as the creature continues to investigate you before suddenly jumping at it. The creature goes down without a sound and you enjoy your first meal.


	2. Chapter 2

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With the creature sitting comfortably in your stomach you continue to search for your kind. Before long you begin to notice changes in your body. You have gotten larger and your skin is tighter over your body. The tip of your tongue is in agony and your tail has gotten longer and has grown a small barb at the tip. You sit down and bring your arms to your head and begin pulling at your skin. The outer layer falls off in broken chunks at your hind legs. The process of removing the dead skin from your body is long and slow, but, finally, all of your old skin is in a pile on the ground. Looking around, you spot a small pond and you trot over to it; looking at your reflection for the first time. Staring back at you is not a small chestburster, but a black, full grown Runner.

You admire your appearance in the water. Your black doomed head, which arched toward your back, holds no visible eyes but you can still see clearly. Next, you admire your sleek black body. Each one of your feet has long shiny, sharp claws. You open your mouth and your tongue, now with sharp teeth, shoots out, striking the surface of the water. You hiss in satisfaction and step away from the water's edge. The thoughts of your new body leave your mind quickly as you are still concerned about where your family is. But, before you continue on your quest, you feel your stomach twist in hunger. Since you have gotten larger, you need to find more food. And fast!

A strange noise reaches your ears, coming from the other side of a hill, accompanied with a strange glow. You sniff the air, the scent of food coming towards you in slow wafts. Moving quietly and stealthily, you creep up the hill toward the sound. The sound grows louder as you reach the crest of the hill and you get the first look at your prey. A group of humans are responsible for the strange noise. They are sitting in a circle around the strange flickering light. You find yourself, for a moment, captivated by the beautiful light. It's filled with reds and oranges and it is crackling and dancing. But before the strange light could hold you captive much longer, your stomach let out a rumble, reminding you of your hunger. You creep closer to the humans, using the strange doomed structures for cover. You wait patiently for one of the humans to get up and separate from the others. Finally, after what feels like forever, one of the humans got up and began making her way back to the doomed structures, luckily for you it was the one you were hiding behind. You wait until she gets closer before pouncing. She screams as your claws dig into her skin and you drag her into the darkness. The other humans scream and scramble away from the strange light. The girl in your claws continues to scream as you run back behind the structure. You hiss in irritation, your sensitive ears ring with the girl's screams. You shoot your tongue through her head and finally silence the screams, but the others are still screaming. You drop the dead girl's body and pick out your next target and pounce. When the girl sees what has caught her, her screams seem to die in her throat and her eyes widen. You quickly kill the girl and place her next to the first. You then move on to kill the last two girls.

Finally, after the girls are dead, you turn your attention to the strange light. It continues to dance and crack and you get annoyed. You pounce forward and try to bite the light. But you are hit with a strange heat and you jump back with a screech. Your exoskeleton is the only thing that protects you from the heat and you back away from the light slowly. You turn your attention away from the light and back to the dead girls. You open your mouth eagerly and feast on the first girl.


	3. Chapter 3

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While feasting on the third girl, you feel a presence. This one is unlike any you have ever encountered before and could only be one thing; your own kind. You hiss in delight and take off back into the woods, following the sensation of you own kind. When you get closer you hiss and are overjoyed when your hiss is answered by a volley of hisses. You break into a run following the sound of the hisses. Suddenly, something slams into your side. Startled, you turn around as something else hits you from the other side. You screech in confusion and try to see what is attacking you. You catch sight of a Warrior charging at you before it slams into your side. You are too confused to fight back as the other Warriors continue to attack you. When there is a lull in the attacks you crouch down and wrap your tail around your body. The attacks stop and you look around, finding yourself surrounded by the other Warriors. You sit up slowly and watch the others warily. A deeper commanding hiss comes from farther in the woods. The other Warriors turn to the sound of the hiss. You feel something nip your back legs and you jump to the left. Another Warrior nips at you and forces you back to the middle. They continue to herd you in this manner into a large clearing.

You are herded into the center of the clearing and brought forward to the largest Warrior you had ever seen. The Warrior is sitting on a large mound made out of black material similar to your skin. Her head is protected in a large crest. The other Warriors back off as the giant Warrior hisses. You take a cautious step forward toward the Warrior. The Warrior continues to hiss at you and you begin to get confused. The giant Warrior seems to be getting angrier and angrier as its hisses get louder. The other Warriors soon join in. You are confused as to what you did wrong and you let out a hiss. But it only seems to anger the others more. You crouch down and try to back away from the giant Warrior. The Warrior lets out a final hiss and the others prepare to attack. You realize you are not wanted here and the only chance of getting out alive is to fight back. So you brace yourself as a group of Warriors jump towards you. You duck and raise your tail. One of the Warriors hits your tail and falls back; crashes into another Warrior. You run to the right and make a break for the cover of the trees. When you reach the trees, you are hit from the side by another Warrior. The two of you roll out of the clearing and into the woods; each struggling for the top. Eventually, you are pinned underneath the other. The Warrior above you seems pleased as you shriek in fear. It thinks it has won, but your will to live is strong. So as the Warrior's tail comes down in an arc-aimed to pierce your chest- you raise your own tail and shit your body.

Simultaneously, two tails pierce their targets. You shriek in pain as the ground is sprayed with green blood and begins to sizzle. The other Warrior remains on top of you, frozen, with your barbed tail poking out of its chest before eventually falling to the side. Luckily for you, you had been able to shift your body enough so that the tail meant for your chest had instead pierced your shoulder and embedded into the ground. You hear the sounds of the rest of the Warriors coming after you, but you're trapped on the ground with your enemy's tail pierced through your shoulder. You have never felt pain like this before and it clouds your vision. You know you will have to remove the tail and that will only cause more pain. But the thought of pain is better than the thought of death and you turn to face the embedded tail. You send your tongue through the tail repeatedly; spraying more blood on the ground. Finally, the tail breaks off, leaving only a severed barb in your shoulder. You pull yourself free. The barb slides painfully out of your shoulder as you rise.

A hiss turns your attention to the right. A lone Warrior comes through the trees after you. You are confident that you can win the fight; instead of running you leap forward to meet the Warrior in mid-air. The two of you meet and immediately begin to claw each other. Your claws rake across the Warrior's head and you hear it screech. The Warrior pulls away from you, blood oozing out of its wound. It's angry and you ready yourself for the attack. But the attack comes from behind. You shake the Warrior that had ambushed you off your back, angry that you had been caught off guard. You realize it would be too difficult for you to take two opponents on at the same time. You watch the two Warriors carefully and begin planning your escape. The sound of running water is music to your ears and you take off before the other Warriors have a chance to attack. You break free of the trees and find yourself at the bank of a rushing river. You hesitate as you look into the churning water; you've never swum before. But the sounds of the Warriors behind you prompt you to jump in. Once in the water, instinct takes over and you use your powerful tail to propel you forward through the swirling water. Eventually you get the hang of swimming and glide through the water. Your arms and legs are tucked in close to your body, giving you more aerodynamics. You can't tell if the Warriors followed you into the water so you continue swimming.


	4. Chapter 4

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When you finally pull yourself from the river, night has fallen once more. You are exhausted from your long swim and feeling more alone than ever. You hear a sizzling sound and look down to see the ground beneath you burning away. Another drop hits the ground and you lift your head to your shoulder; remembering the fight. Pain flares up and you screech. An answering shriek reverberates off the trees. You tense, thinking that the Warriors have found you. When nothing moves in the forest you relax, thinking it was just an echo. Suddenly, the screech sounds again, closer than before and you know it's not an echo. A Warrior steps slowly out from the shadows of the trees and you tense before noticing the long scars that cover the Warrior's head. As the Warrior steps farther out you realize its limping. Behind it, another Warrior steps out. This one is like you, walking on four legs. You stand cautiously as the limping Warrior comes closer. Finally, it stops two feet in front of you and extends its neck out slowly. By this time you realize the Warrior isn't a threat. As it continues reaching forward, you stretch your neck out to meet it. The Warrior hisses as the two of you touch and you realize with shock that you are able to understand its hisses; unlike the Warriors before. It tells you not to be afraid and you believe it. The Warrior with four legs comes forward and rubs heads with you. It notices the wound on your shoulder and lets out a worried hiss. The limping Warrior turns back to the woods, telling you to come with them. You follow without hesitation.

The Warrior leads you to a large clearing where there are about a dozen Warriors lying about-some of them even look like you. Most of them have long scars covering their bodies; it seems all have had an encounter with the Hive. The limping Warrior leads you to a pile of leaves. The leaves dip in the middle, the perfect spot for a sleeping animal. You look at the Warrior and it bobs its head, encouraging you to lie down. You do so slowly, wrapping your tail around you, and rest your head on your front legs. Your body relaxes and you fall into a deep sleep.

You wake the next morning feeling refreshed and energized. You stretch, letting out a big yawn. The wound on your shoulder twinges slightly but has already begun to heal. You know that in a few days, a scar will be the only reminder of your battle with the other Warriors. The Warrior sees you standing and limps over to you. As it gets closer you ask for food and the Warrior gestures to a large group of Warriors. Their heads were bunched together, bobbing slightly, and their tails are waving high in the air. The Warrior limps over to the group and you follow. The feasting Warriors raise their heads and a couple move aside and allow you to squeeze in. The Warriors had made quick work of whatever it was they were eating so you are unable to tell what it used to be. But you are so hungry that you don't care and you eat slowly. Eventually, you are the only one left eating. You raise your head as the Warrior with the limp walks up to you, a chunk of meat dangling from your mouth. As the Warrior crouches down next to you, you gulp down the rest of the meat. Before you can ask, the Warrior tells you that because you were born alone you have a disconnection to the Warriors of the Hive. It tells you that all the other Warriors in this clearing were like you; born in the wild. You look around, surprised at how many are like you. The Warrior than offers you a home among the rejects. You except and hiss happily; following your new friend back to the group. You finally feel like you belong.


End file.
